~ Giveaway Winners and More ~

A big thank you to all who enter the pattern giveaway!  Even if you didn't win there's still plenty more fun scheduled for this month.  There will be a free pattern for everyone sometime this week.  And next week is a fabric giveaway!  Oh it's a bundle that would fit in with my color pallet.  So if you love bright happy fabrics be sure to come back for visits in the next couple of weeks.  

The winners for this giveaway were chosen by an online random name generator.

Congratulations to 

Brenda@songbirddesigns

and

MarshaB

Both have been emailed.  Should they not respond within a week, new winners will be chosen.

Here's a sneak peek at Spring Blossoms, the  free pattern that will soon be available.  It's a great little project for using up a few scraps.  I had so much fun putting this one together, the simple design could be used in any decor.  But of course I chose bright and happy.  This is another project that may end up in my new office space.

Since we're on the topic of my office.....A couple of weeks I pulled fabric for a laptop cover.  As it goes all to often around here, I became preoccupied with other projects and the laptop cover is still just an idea.  The office desk is slowly becoming a catch all.  It's time to get things organized before they get out of control.  The white baskets below were purchased at Meijer.  If I can't be organized at least I can hide it in them!  HAHA!   Reverting to my teenage ways!

You all know my fondness for cherries.  Well while at Meijer's this week I spied the most adorable kitchen towels.  Let me tell you, it took all I had to leave them hanging in the store.  Chances are they will eventually end up in my cart.  Unless you go buy them all....please do!  I don't need them!  

#quiltinggiveaway #officeorganizing #freequiltingpattern #podunkpretties #cherrylove

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~ My Talented Family ~

This is a post about my creative and talented family.  Before going any further I want to give you a heads up/WARNING about what you will see in this post.  The WARNING is being made due to the highly PC culture that has taken over our society.   So if you would prefer to NOT see a handmade knife don't read any further.  You have been warned, so please no snarky comments, they will be deleted.  

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As a family of makers we tend to give gifts that we put our heart and souls into.  This doesn't stop with just me and my quilting.  My entire family loves to make things, from homemade baked goods to rebuilding cars, everyone has a craft.  Most of us dabble in many different hobbies.  Each one of my children is talented in many different form of the arts.  For my birthday this year my two sons worked together to make a knife.  Remember we're talking about a form of art not a usable tool.  It could be used, it's sharp.  Just like in quilting, some are made to be used and some are made to be hung on a wall.  My youngest son has always shown a talent for working with metals.  He originally wanted to be a jeweler.  Here's a piece he did about 10 yrs ago while still in high school.

The two boys also worked together to make my older sons wedding rings.  My DIL also helped with this project.  What an amazing gift to one another.  The rings are not fancy just a simple band made with love.  Does it get any more romantic than that?  Makes a momma tear up knowing how much they love one another.

So who are these amazing people? (Yep, I'm bias)  This is my youngest son Trever(the jeweler and knife maker) and his fiance Heather.  A fun couple that keep me in stitches.  Always joking around and telling funny stories.  Both are dog whispers and are trying to build a relationship with our Khaleesi.  The truth be told I think they should go into animal training.  They both seem to understand animals on a different level than the rest of us.

My oldest son, Derek and his wife Kristi.   As you can tell by the picture they love adventure.  But they too are just overgrown kids that love to have a good time.  They are such a joy to be around.  Not only for the fun times but because it's so obvious they are in love.  These 2 are modern day hippies, full of love and peace.

So when I was given this little box of what looks like tea I knew the contents was not tea.  Of course it would be something homemade.  But were these mischievous boys up to no good?

I was surprised to find this hand crafted little knife.

How cute is this?  Look closely at the shape of the entire knife.  It is half a pair of scissors, how clever!

They even made a little sheath with hand stitching.  There's a story behind the handle.  My oldest son found the piece of cedar while canoeing on the Ohio river last fall.  He was going to burn it that evening at camp.  But when he was cutting up the wood for the fire he saw the beautiful color and design and couldn't stand the thought of throwing it in the fire.  He loved it so much he couldn't even bare to throw out the cedar shavings when carving he handle.  They became filler in the tea box.  The  attention to detail is beautiful.  The little cut out in the handle is a copper inlay.  That copper is his signature.  He is a pipe fitter in a local union.  

The copper has also been used to add a little interest on the top of the handle.  It's amazing workmanship.  A one of kind piece.  It makes me proud to know my boys put so much time and effort into such a small gift.  Priceless.

I pulled this image off of Dereks instagram account.  He's working on the knife with the guidance of his younger brother Trever(the knife maker).  I had no idea when he posted this picture that the knife was for me.  Sneaky boys! Some things never change.  I'm a proud momma.   They are good boys, with big hearts and loving spirits.  What more could a momma want?

You thought this would be the end of the story, wrong!  There's another crafty man I would like to give a little shout out to today.....Mr. Podunk!  It is his turn to shine.  You all already know he's a handy guy.  He is also known as Mr. Fixit.  That's a self imposed title.  He says it's what he was born to do, fix things.  And he does a mighty fine job.  So this week I gave him a very simple task of making a quilt ladder. I've been wanting one for years but I'm to cheap to buy one.   Here it is in the early stages of construction.

When I went out to the garage yesterday evening to see how it was going.....TADA!  It's done!  Well his part is done.  I'm the finisher.  Now to decide do I leave it as is or add paint?  I'm not sure. I'll give it a few days before making my decision.  

#familyofmakers #khaleesithegermanshepherd #treverbrummett #derekbrummett #podunkpretties #dailyquote #dailyinspiration 

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~ Staying organized ~

With the new warmer weather comes new daily chores added to my already busy schedule.  At the top of the list is planting the veggie garden.  Then there's training our German Shepard Khaleesi.  I often leave my studio right in the middle of working on a project.  Having reminders to let me know where I was in the process helps save time.  These cute little quilting letters have come in very handy over the last few days.  I'll admit that I don't always use them if I can sit and sew for hours on end.  I'm pretty good about remembering what piece is what as long as I don't need to leave and do something else. 

I made these little letters a few years ago when I was taking care of my mom during her battle with cancer.  During that time I sewed when time permitted.  Which meant it could be days in between sewing times.  The stressful times out of the Studio would wipe my memory clean of where I was in the sewing process.  So the numbers were a great reminder.  They are even more handy when sewing together rows.  It's a real time saver to mark each row with a letter or number and move them all to the sewing table at once.  Using a hole punch to make a hole in the corner and adding a pin keeps them securely in place as I stitch together the rows.  

When they are not in use I store them in a plastic pin container.  I love that pin manufactures have started putting pins in these little reusable containers.  They come handy for so many things.

These are still available as a FREE editable and printable file.   So it requires you do a little work of your own to finish labeling them.   Below is what it would look like if you printed it out as is.

It's a Word file so you can easily edit/change the letters and numbers.  When editing just click on a scallop circle center.  You should see 2 boxes appear. One box will be inside the scallop, click inside that box, type your desired number or letter.  If needed you can change the font size, color and style.

Then all you need to do is print them out onto regular printing paper or card stock is what I used.

Cutting them apart was fast and easy using the rotary cutter.

To get your free quilty letters click here.  This is a Microsoft Word Document.  So it will open up in Microsoft Word where you can edit and print.

#organizingquiltingroom #quiltingtips #freequitingstuff #podunkpretties 

Failure is not an option as long as you are being you!  We often feel like we have failed or fallen short in life.  But the simple truth is we are perfect and succeeding at being ourselves every moment of everyday.  Don't let the little things steal your uniqueness and joy.

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~ Small Project Progress ~

Slowly but surely my new Spring Blossoms project is coming together.  Thank goodness this is a small project because at this rate it would take months to make a full sized quilt.  Everyday is started with the intentions of sewing all day.  At least I have good intention, right?

 Khaleesi is the main reason for the lack of sewing time.  Everyday, twice a day,  we go out for walks and training.  Everything is new to her so she must sniff and inspect every square inch of the property.  Each day is new adventure with her, Mr. Podunk calls her the "50 First Dates" dog.  I'm sure most of you have seen this movie.  If not let me spoil it for you.  A girl has amnesia, everyday a man who is in love with her tries to make her fall in love with him again.  Well that's how it is with Khaleesi and Mr. Podunk.  She does well with me everyday and has become my loyal protector but Mr. Podunk has to win her trust every morning.  He's normally greeted with a growl.  By the end of the day they have become best buddies.  They go fishing, take a walk, he does a little training with food rewards....but in the morning she looks at him like a stranger.  We know sooner or later she will learn to love him almost as much as she loves me.  But we also know she will always be my dog and my protector.  Yep, best buds!

While Khaleesi explores every last nook and cranny I take the time to enjoy mother nature.  Little signs of spring are starting to pop up in the woods.  This dainty little weed blankets the floor of our wooded area.

The May Apples are a sure sign that mushroom hunting season is upon us.  Mushroom hunting is big thing here in Indiana.  People pay big bucks for a pound of musty nasty wild mushrooms.  Not me, I think they taste like dirt.  But if I find a bunch I'll be happy to sell them to the highest bidder!

As Khaleesi and I continue on our walk I notice the pond is staring to clear up from the heavy spring rains.  

Just last week the water looked like chocolate milk.  That makes for good fishing.  The clearer waters allow the fish to see you so they are a harder to catch.  We catch and release but we also catch and eat from time to time.  There are Catfish, Bass, Bluegill and a few Snapping Turtles in our pond.   We don't eat the Bass but all the rest are fair game!  Last Thursday Mr. Podunk and Khaleesi brought in just enough Bluegill for supper.  DELICIOUS!   Now that we have eaten the first catch of the year we'll start freezing some of our catches for next winters food storage.  

The first real sign of spring is this cute little weed called a Dandelion.  Many people treat their lawns to get rid of the weeds.  We do not.  Dandelions are pretty and should we need to, we can eat them.  No I have never ate a Dandelion, but it's good to know I can if needed.  For now I'm happy enjoying their beauty.   I hope all you find time everyday to enjoy the beauty that mother nature has to offer.  Even if you can't get outside, make it a point to sit by a window for a few minutes a day and admire the wonder gift we been given. 

#springblossomsquilt #freequiltpattern #springquilt #flowerquilt #khaleesithegermanshepherd 

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